How to use the UTM Builder tool
- Enter the page URLPaste the address of the page you want to send visitors to.
- Fill in source, medium and campaignUse a preset or type your own: for example newsletter / email / summer_sale.
- Add optional detailsUse utm_term for paid keywords, utm_content to tell apart links or ads, and utm_id for campaign IDs.
- Copy and use the linkCopy the tagged URL into your ad, email or post, or turn it into a QR code for print.
Features
- Channel presetsOne click fills source and medium for Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, YouTube, email and QR codes.
- Consistent namingConverts values to lowercase and replaces spaces, so your reports don’t split into duplicates.
- Smart URL handlingKeeps the page’s existing query parameters and #anchors, and encodes special characters correctly.
- Read existing linksPaste a tagged URL to load its UTM values into the form for editing.
- QR code shortcutSend the finished link straight to our QR Code Generator for posters and flyers.
What are UTM parameters?
UTM parameters are short tags added to the end of a URL that tell analytics tools where a visitor came from. When someone clicks example.com/sale?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=summer_sale, Google Analytics records that the visit came from your newsletter email for the summer sale campaign. Without them, many visits from apps, email and messengers show up as “direct” traffic, with no clue which campaign worked.
The five standard parameters
| Parameter | Answers | Examples |
|---|---|---|
utm_source | Where did the visitor come from? | google, facebook, newsletter, partner_blog |
utm_medium | What kind of channel? | cpc, email, social, paid_social, affiliate, qr |
utm_campaign | Which campaign or promotion? | summer_sale_2026, product_launch |
utm_term | Which paid keyword? | running_shoes |
utm_content | Which link, ad or version? | header_button, video_ad_b |
Best practices
- Be consistent. UTM values are case-sensitive, so “Facebook”, “facebook” and “fb” become three separate rows in your reports. Agree on a naming list and stick to it.
- Use the medium names analytics expects. Google Analytics groups traffic into channels using the medium, so values like
email,cpc,socialandpaid_socialland in the right channel. - Never tag internal links. UTMs on links within your own site start a new session and overwrite the original source.
- Keep a log. Record every campaign URL in a spreadsheet so your team reuses the same names.
- Google Ads auto-tagging: if auto-tagging (gclid) is on, you usually don’t need manual UTMs for Google Ads.
UTMs and SEO
UTM parameters don’t affect your search rankings. To avoid duplicate URLs in search results, make sure your pages have a canonical tag pointing to the clean URL; create one with our Meta Tag Generator. Printing a campaign on a flyer or poster? Turn the link into a QR code with utm_medium=qr so you can measure offline response.